


Faking and making it.

by enigmaticma



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticma/pseuds/enigmaticma
Summary: Jongdae is sick of his family pestering him about his love life at every holiday gathering, so he enlists his good friend Baekhyun to come home with him for Christmas and pretend to be his partner. After a few days of acting in love with each other in front of his relatives, they both realize that they may not be acting so much after all.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Comments: 12
Kudos: 65
Collections: EXO on Ice Round 1





	Faking and making it.

**Author's Note:**

> \- the names are used as Visual references only to help you imagine the scenes.  
> \- Please leave Kudos and comments, all comments are appreciated.

Oh God, no!

That was what Jongdae thought when he got his mother’s text about a special Christmas plan in which they would spend the holiday with the entire family, in his grandma’s farm in Jeju Island. It only meant that he would be cornered for not having someone in his life.

He was so pressured about it that he came out as gay to just shut them up, which did for three years, but they pressured him still to have a stable relationship or  _ marry a woman to have kids _ . “I need a way out of this,” he mumbled to himself when Baekhyun suddenly sent him a message.

“I’m going to the club with Jongin and Sehun, do you want to join?” it said and Jongdae was sure in need of a drink so he sent a thumbs up sticker only for Baekhyun to send, “see you in twenty.” 

Byun Baekhyun was his best friend ever since they were in high school. They went to different divisions and different universities but kept track of each other almost daily. Even when they had nothing to say, they still called only to hear each other breathe. 

Jongdae believed that Baekhyun was just a mirror of himself. 

He also lived in the building across from him so twenty minutes was what Jongdae took to dress up nicely. The second he got in the building front door, Baekhyun was waiting for him with a grin. Jongin and Sehun were arguing, in a curious manner, which made Jongdae frown and look at Baekhyun who pulled him to walk.

“They were dating for a few days and some kind of assholes seemed to pester Sehun about it,” Baekhyun said as soon as they were out of the couple’s reach, “Jongin wants to kick them to the pulp and Sehun want Jongin to keep his fists for himself.”

“I am with Jongin,” Jongdae pointed out, “if someone pestered my baby boy, I’d kick their ass.” 

Baekhyun laughed at that, “lucky bastard,” he said as he and Jongdae shared a laugh. The walk to the bus stop was rather tense for the couple behind them so they encircled Sehun to tease Jongin who went from Mad Tm  to super shy. They managed to boost the mood before they got into the nightclub where Jongdae and Sehun took boots while Jongin and Baekhyun got the drinks. It was after the first beer when Jongdae complained about it. 

Christmas was twenty-one days later and he didn’t know how he would skip the entire thing because he planned to spend Christmas with his family and got a whole month off. Baekhyun just patted his back, smiling comfortingly, when Jongin said, “get yourself a fake boyfriend and make them forget about it.” 

It made Jongdae push Jongin in annoyment before mumbling, “you are drunk?” Yet, the idea didn’t stop echoing in his brain, especially since his mother insisted he could bring someone to the family meeting, exactly the following day. 

He decided to ask anyone willing to be his fake friend for the Christmas holiday. Of course, he asked Baekhyun first, “Would it be okay if you played as my boyfriend for the holiday?” 

Baekhyun and he met at Lunch break, both working in the same company just in different departments. They were sitting in a very calm corner, eating their ordered bowl of noodles when Baekhyun nearly choked on food. “What?” he asked between coughs.

“Mom insists to make me introduce anyone I have in my life right now,” Jongdae explained, “which only means that she wants me to be dating regardless of whether I want it or not, which is why having a fake boyfriend didn’t seem like a bad idea. I just wonder if you are willing to play along. if not, I can ask Junmyeon.” 

Baekhyun shook his head, gulping down more water, before speaking in a raspy voice, “I’ll do it.” Jongdae’s heart raced at that. “I’ll help you out,” Baekhyun said with a grin, “I have nowhere to go on Christmas anyway.” 

“Oh, they didn’t want you home this year too?” Jongdae asked him, trying not to sound sorry for Baekhyun. Baekhyun shook his head and Jongdae just changed the subject. He couldn’t do anything else but that. Baekhyun hadn't seen his family since he came out to them before the military service, eight years ago. He came out to Jongdae first during high school, which made Jongdae realize and accept his sexuality even back then.

They went each to his office, had a normal day at work and went back home. Jongdae invited Baekhyun over his place for a sleepover. As soon as they got in, Baekhyun asked, “So how are we going to do this?” 

“We need a solid story,” Jongdae said as he handed over a beer bottle to Baekhyun, “They would ask tons of questions about us as a couple, like who cooks often and who does this or that.” 

“We know that already,” Baekhyun pointed out, giving Jongdae a look, “I suck at cooking so you cook and I clean. if they ask us anything we will just say we don’t know, couples aren’t very much aware of everything about each other, no?” 

Jongdae sighed, “you are right but when did we date?” 

“Since you came out to them? I mean you haven't interacted with them in three years so that’s a long period to date someone and know so much about them,” Baekhyun asserted, “plus they know me since you were sixteen, so it is easy to fool them.” 

Jongdae nearly winced at the “fool” part but it was what they were doing. However, it suddenly felt so easy. “Wow, I know a lot about you, Baek,” he mumbled after an entire pizza and five beers. He was a step away from being completely wasted but rational enough to say, “I probably wouldn’t know my boyfriend this way.” 

Baekhyun laughed enough to make his stomach turn and made him rush to the toilet. It was their cue to leave for the bed, both of them curling in bed, drunk, and sleeping as soon as they closed their eyes. 

They only realized how right they were when they noticed Jongdae’s parents' reaction to seeing Baekhyun. “Oh, Baekhyunnie?” The mother said lovingly which made Baekhyun smile, bowing while greeting the elders, “I didn’t know you would join us.” 

“Well, you insisted so I can bring my special someone and here he is,” Jongdae held Baekhyun’s waist as he said, “Mom, dad, Baekhyun is my boyfriend.” 

The silence that followed almost made Baekhyun and Jongdae look at each other worriedly. Baekhyun scotched himself to Jongdae, almost too naturally, before looking down to his shoes, mumbling almost too softly, “I guess I’ll just wait for you at home, dae.” 

“You are welcome to join us,” Jongdae’s father said, almost darkly, “but we need to talk.” Jongdae nodded to that and smiled reassuringly toward Baekhyun. “Please load your luggage in the trunk, while I speak to my son,” the old man said and Baekhyun nodded, picking even Jongdae’s bag. 

“I’ll handle it,” he said, nervosity falling heavy on his tone, “Just go.” 

They went home, sitting in the living room with each facing the other. “When did this happen?” 

“Five years ago,” Jongdae said as he fidgeted, “But it didn’t change much between us, Dad, so we are still besties.” 

The father sighed, “I guess I understand that,” he said, “But I would have preferred if I knew he was your boyfriend around that time.” 

Jongdae doubted he would have told his family about Baekhyun if they dated back then anyway. He smiled nodding and they went to the car where Baekhyun was talking on the phone. He looked quite stern and firm with whoever. He still offered Jongdae his widest smile, opening the door for him as the father went to the driver seat. Baekhyun rushed to open the door for Jongdae’s mother which made the woman laugh, calling Baekhyun cute. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae were acting like usual, Baekhyun playing a game on his phone while Jongdae rested his head on the man’s shoulder, commenting from time to time. “Ah! it’s done,” Baekhyun let out as he lost, making faces which made Jongdae laugh, “Damn, such a hard game.” 

“You were playing this for a week already,” Jongdae commented, “I thought you will try something new by now.” 

“This game is so fun, it’s like Mafia but with tasks and random challenges,” Baekhyun explained before looking at Jongdae, patting his tight, “Please join me for one game. Just one. I’d like to team up.” 

Jongdae looked like he was about to decline but Baekhyun gave him a kicked pup look, “Okay, I’ll play this time but I’ll take the game off later.” Baekhyun was so happy about it that he snatched the phone out of Jongdae’s pocket, opening it, and installed the game while Jongdae just looked at him with smiling eyes and a barely contained smirk. 

They didn’t notice how his parents were watching him do things or how Jongdae’s mother mouthed “he knows the password for Jongdae’s phone” to her husband. She even looked envious as her husband had a lock on his phone. 

They played the entire game, exchanging strategies and having fun when they reached the ferry where they parked the car and left to have some snacks and have some fresh air. “Jongdae,” his mother suddenly called, “Come with me, I’ll get us some water and snacks.” 

Jongdae and Baekhyun exchanged fast eye contact and Baekhyun nodded. Jongdae walked, nervousness twisting his insides, by his mother’s side while Baekhyun walked after his father to the side of the boat, to breathe fresh air. “You sure are close,” The old man commented, “I didn’t see Jongdae close to anyone like that.” 

“We are childhood friends too,” Baekhyun explained, “We learned to be in a middle ground with our personalities.” The man nodded at that, looking at the sea ahead of him and Baekhyun did as much, “I love your son, sir,” he said suddenly, “And I don’t plan to hurt him or hurt you.” 

“I am very much aware of that,” the man said, “And I learned to accept his choices, but… I just hoped that someday he would consider having a family too.” 

“I hope that too,” Baekhyun said with a smile, “I want to have a family with Jongdae. In the future when it is possible, I want to have a family with Jongdae.” Baekhyun didn’t truly picture it with Jongdae before but he indeed wanted a family, so his smile was very dreamy and his eyes sparkled with hope. 

The old man patted his back at that and said nothing else, leaving Baekhyun to imagine how life would be if he and Jongdae adopted a boy or a girl. It didn’t even strike him as strange or off to think of Jongdae that way. 

Meanwhile, Jongdae was dragged by his mother who seemed to be very appreciative of Baekhyun. “I am amazed how he knows your phone passcode when I struggle to even get through your dad’s,” she said as she picked snacks.

“I have nothing to hide from Baekhyun, mom,” Jongdae admitted, which was completely true, If I get any message from other men, I let him know and he reads them. He is not that jealous.” 

“Oh, why?” She asked him confusedly and he didn’t know what to say about that.

He thought of it. During his childhood with Baekhyun up to then, Baekhyun never showed jealousy toward anyone. “I never saw Baekhyun act jealous before,” Jongdae commented pensively, “I don’t think he gets mad easily too.” 

“That’s a good thing,” his mother commented, “He s a total opposite for your father.” Jongdae could tell it was true as he faced his father’s wrath many times in similar situations as with Baekhyun and the latter only laughed it off. In the car, Jongdae offered a bottle of water and snacks to Baekhyun who smiled widely toward him. They played some more in the way when they reached a rather old but large house.

“Woah, your grandma’s house is quite big,” Baekhyun commented as he helped Jongdae pick the luggage, which earned him chuckles from the women who rushed to greet the old people first before checking on Jongdae. 

His grandparents were so happy to see Baekhyun, as the entire family knew about Jongdae being gay because he fit their expectations on many levels, except cooking. “Sadly, Jongdae does the cooking, I am very bad at it,” Baekhyun said with a funny-sad face while Jongdae whined at how he said it. 

Baekhyun was goofy and knew how to turn any discussion into a comic situation, especially if it is about Jongdae’s life or any subject he knew Jongdae wasn’t up to talk about. Jongdae would send him a thankful smile every time. 

By the time they finished dinner and had to sleep each in a bed, Baekhyun and Jongdae volunteered to wash the dishes. “If I am good at anything, it’s this,” Baekhyun said as he politely declined help from Jongdae’s auntie, “Trust me on the task, Auntie.” 

Once they were alone, Jongdae almost collapsed on Baekhyun, whining “Day one is over.” Baekhyun chuckled and helped him into his apron. They washed the dishes, discussing random things to fill in the silence before they joined the room offered to them. Jongdae’s parents had a couple of futons while each of them had a separate futon. “They didn’t expect me to bring anyone,” Jongdae whispered.

“It’s okay, we can still snuggle in one futon,” Baekhyun whispered teasingly.

Jongdae gave him a soft slap on the arm, to which Baekhyun chuckled, and each slid in his futon before suddenly Baekhyun kissed Jongdae’s cheek, a bit loudly, before whispering, “Goodnight, my love.” 

Jongdae let out a chuckle, “Goodnight, goofball,” he said, slapping Baekhyun’s arm again, only for Baekhyun to hold his hand. 

Jongdae felt quite shy about that but he didn’t try to pull his hand away. It felt very reassuring. That’s how they were found in the morning. Jongdae and Baekhyun were buried in their futons, but their hands still clasped into each other. 

“That’s adorable,” the grandma said as she pushed everybody out, “Let them sleep a little.” Jongdae, however, woke up as soon as the squeaky door closed and he sat up, confused before noticing his numb hand that was holding into Baekhyun. He needed a moment to make sense of what was happening before waking Baekhyun. They went to the bathroom, washing up and trying to tame their wild hair. 

Breakfast wasn’t as tense as they expected it to be as they were seated next to each other and the grandma kept on teasing them. “Your grandpa and I never held hands when we first married,” she said as the women collected the dishes, “It was such a hard thing to do in our days.” 

“I am used to being close to Jongdae,” Baekhyun admitted, “if I didn’t hold his hand, I wouldn't sleep.” 

The grandma clapped her hand together and said with awe, “That’s how love works.” the boys blushed instantly and looked down as the grandma added, “This is what I wanted for my baby Jongdae, see? Baekhyun-ie is such a loving man.” 

Baekhyun couldn’t laugh it off or joke about it, looking at Jongdae who looked at him right then with flushed cheeks, and smiled shyly, “I hope you see me like that, Dae,” he said and Jongdae nodded, looking away. 

It was undeniable how loving Baekhyun was in general. He always gave his heart even in fights. As they were left alone, Jongdae realized that they never had a big fight. They bickered, yes, over trivial things like pencils or misplaced toothbrushes but nothing big and he looked at Baekhyun wondering whether it was because they were too close or just didn’t live with each other enough.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asked him suddenly, looking dressed up, “You didn’t hear me calling you.” 

“Where are you going?” Jongdae asked. 

Baekhyun looked at his clothes, quite surprised, “nowhere? I just felt like wearing something less comfortable to leave a better impression. I heard more cousins and relatives are going to come today,” he explained and Jongdae smiled at his look.

“You sure aimed to impress,” he held Baekhyun’s hand, pulling him close, “you look good.” 

Baekhyun smiled shyly, pleased as well. “You think so?” He asked only for Jongdae to nod, examining his look, “glad.” 

“Sit here, I’m going to wear something else,” Jongdae announced before he changed clothes. He returned to find every other family getting, either surrounding Baekhyun or greeting the family present. 

“Here is our gay cousin!” Minseok, Jongdae’s cousin, yelled before lifting Jongdae from the ground, “I missed you, you little shit.” 

Jongdae laughed and wiggled out of Minseok’s hold before punching his shoulder. “It’s not like you call or text me, hyung,” Jongdae complained. Minseok scoffed and they bickered for a moment before others came to greet him normally. 

“Baekhyun is a smartass,” Minseok commented as they got through the day. Dinner was near and they were going to leave the gifts by the tree for celebration so each just cuddled someone for warmth and they had fun teasing each other. Baekhyun was the funniest the entire time. “He is your type,” Minseok added as Jongdae looked over Baekhyun who was curled by his side. 

“You think?” Jongdae asked Minseok in disbelief and Minseok just patted his shoulder, nodding. “Thank you, Hyung. I am happy you approve of us.” 

“I am happy you made a great choice in Boyfriends or else, I would have kicked their ass the second I got in,” Minseok teased with a chuckle and Jongdae smiled before looking at Baekhyun who looked at him. They were smiling and the sight made the rest chant “Kiss.” 

Baekhyun and Jongdae looked at everybody like deers caught in a headlight, trying to stop them but the chanting insisted while their grandma said, “it is for a lucky year, my dear! Kiss your Baekhyunnie.” 

Jongdae hesitated and Baekhyun suddenly announced he would do it. 

The second he held Jongdae’s cheeks, pressing their lips together, and making a loud kissing noise, Jongdae thought he was a goner. He froze letting Baekhyun do as he pleased but he could see a sudden shift into Baekhyun’s tone and expression. 

It was subtle but there. 

The family was happy with the display and they moved on but even if Baekhyun remained where he was, something shifted. 

The scale tilted somewhere on the opposite of what Jongdae expected. 

They touched, hugged, cuddled but kissed? Never. It was a no-touch zone for them, even though Jongdae has seen Baekhyun naked and even shared a shower with him. 

What was so special about the kiss? 

Jongdae couldn’t wrap his mind about it. The dinner was over and they were offered wine until slowly people left for bed. Either in nearby guesthouses or somewhere in the house. In the end, Baekhyun and Jongdae remained the last, sitting in the living room as their futons were given to a couple. They even insisted. 

Baekhyun didn’t move away from Jongdae despite the huge space around so their noses nearly bumped into each other. They didn’t say much. Baekhyun just hesitated on Jongdae’s lips as if he wanted to kiss but didn’t know if he could. Jongdae held into his shirt the second the hesitation was gone and their lips collided. 

It was overwhelming at first but he realized deep within that he wanted the kiss as much as Baekhyun was willing to give. He kissed Baekhyun as if it was the last kiss they would share as if it was the missing piece to all their puzzles. He didn’t want to stop but they did and they looked at each other, shock written clear into their eyes. 

“We went too far,” Jongdae whispered.

“But I don’t regret it,” Baekhyun whispered back and Jongdae sighed, resting his forehead into Baekhyun’s, “do you?” 

“I don’t,” Jongdae admitted, “I can’t…” He looked up on time to receive another soul-sucking kiss. They rolled into each other, uncaring that they were in a tiny couch and that their makeshift bed was yet to be made. They were way beyond that when they paused. 

They knew they wanted more but neither the place nor the time was for that so Baekhyun lied above Jongdae, picking a comforter and lying there while Jongdae just chuckled as he made himself comfortable. They slept like that. 

When they woke up on laughter, Baekhyun didn’t notice how they curled into each other, breathing into each other, while the family took pictures, until the grandma shooed them away and woke the boys for breakfast. He smiled happily when he noticed Jongdae before he left the couch to freshen up and change. Jongdae meanwhile was bombarded with teasings. 

Their pictures were cute but he looked out of it, squeezed in that tiny space. He whined until Baekhyun came and teased him as well. “Meanie.” Jongdae pouted as he left to freshen up when he noticed his parents looking into the phone.

His mother smiled and said “aren’t they cute together?” while his father nodded, smiling to her, “Baekhyunnie is such a sweetheart. It makes me happy.” 

Jongdae felt both happy his parents approved Baekhyun and were happy for him and guilty because it was all fake. It made his heart squeeze as he got in the bathroom. He washed up and looked at the mirror in confusion. “What are you doing, Jongdae? You are making fool of yourself and your family,” he whispered before brushing his hair and joining the family for breakfast first. 

Then the unwrapping of the gifts started and Jongdae had one extra unexpected gift. He picked the box, reading, “Thank you for always being with me and for letting me see your family. I didn’t taste the joy of Christmas in a while before you. - your beagle.” 

He looked at Baekhyun who smiled. “You got me this?” Jongdae asked and Baekhyun nodded, which made Jongdae tear up. He blinked his tears away, despite how everybody noticed, and opened the box to find a bracelet with “be always true to yourself” written on it. He closed his eyes as tears ran down before he could stop them. 

“Awww, don’t cry,” Baekhyun teased but Jongdae just handed him the box, sniffing, and he chuckled, picking the bracelet and making Jongdae wear it. “It fits perfectly, right?” He asked only to notice Jongdae’s eyes on him, tear rimmed. 

“It does,” Jongdae managed to say before picking a box, “I got you something but without a message.” 

Baekhyun looked surprised and even disbelieving but he read Baekhyun written on it so he smiled brightly. “You didn’t have to,” he said as he unwrapped the box to find a buttoned shirt with a weird design on it, “Oh, that’s unique.” 

“It’s lame,” Jongdae mumbled with a sniff, “I’ll get you better gifts next time, I promise.” 

The family teased Jongdae thinking he was upset his gift wasn’t good enough as Baekhyun’s but the messages were both making it hard for Jongdae to decide whether he wanted to end the entire play or just ask Baekhyun out because…

He wasn’t stupid. 

He wasn’t blind. 

He wasn’t clueless. 

Baekhyun had won his heart somewhere along the way and the kiss only opened his eyes on that fact. He wasn’t going to deny. The Christmas day was over and unlike the rest, Jongdae and Baekhyun chose to leave. They could spend more time until the new year but as they packed to leave for Seoul, Baekhyun and Jongdae could see there was a discussion pending between them.

They got on a bus for Seoul, sitting next to each other without saying a word. The trip to Seoul took the entire day, in which Baekhyun and Jongdae barely exchanged a “do you want to eat?” or “do you want some water?” so much talking felt like a door they couldn’t open. 

Once home, they got in Baekhyun’s place. The silence was heavy when they sat on the couch, looking ahead. “Did we fuck it up?” Baekhyun asked suddenly, “did I fuck our friendship?” 

“No, not really,” Jongdae said, “I just… I think I was aware of my feelings, I just needed to understand what it meant.” He and Baekhyun looked into each other’s eyes when Jongdae confessed. “I am in love with you,” he admitted, “I think I was for a long time but we were so good as friends, we still are, that it didn’t matter. It still doesn’t.” 

“It doesn’t?” Baekhyun sounded winded as he whined, “you confessed to me and you say it doesn’t matter?”

Jongdae looked at him, noticing the unshed tears in Baekhyun’s eyes, and said, “I’ll always be your best friend whether you like me or not, we can still be friends like usual. This is why I said it doesn’t matter because it changed nothing from my side.” 

Baekhyun nodded but he looked serious as he asked. “But what if I want more?” He asked worriedly.

“We will always be best friends, Baekhyun,” Jongdae assured, “even if we become more, I’m not going anywhere.” 

Baekhyun approached Jongdae at that and held his hand. “I…” he hesitated to say it but he whispered, “I love you too. I’ve loved you for so long, Jongdae, and I was hoping if you truly love me, maybe we can… we can be real boyfriends instead of fake ones.” 

Jongdae smiled at that, shaking his head slightly at Baekhyun’s cute expression. “You are adorable,” Jongdae mumbled before pulling Baekhyun close to a kiss, “I’d die to be your boyfriend, Baekhyun. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Baekhyun mumbled, kissing Jongdae softly before pulling away, “Is this okay?” Jongdae nodded and Baekhyun kissed him deeper. 

They decided to slow down on the dating, despite telling Sehun and Jongin by the New Year. “I knew it would happen sooner or later,” Sehun commented at that, not even surprised. 

“Freaking finally,” Jongin said instead, screaming it in the streets. 

Jongdae and Baekhyun simply laughed at their antics, holding into each other for warmth like they always did. Jongdae looked at Baekhyun as they were counting down and smiled, as he tightened his hold into his boyfriend’s hand. “Ready for a new year?” he said into Baekhyun’s ear. 

“Ready,” Baekhyun said back, kissing him right as the world screamed “Happy New year.” 


End file.
